A Quest to Reconcile
by Pixilated Pixie Princess
Summary: Seven years after parting ways with Lyon, Gray hears of the elder ice mage's appearance in Fiore and sets out to find him; feeling that Ur would have wanted them to become friends again. Lyon however, does not share the same sentiment. Three-Shot.
1. The Search

A Quest to Reconcile

Chapter One: The Search

* * *

Gray tapped his foot on the ground, as he watched his quest partner snuffle threw the various cards on the shelf. They had finished their job early and since they were in the town that had the magic shop with the 'best selection on magic cards', Cana had insisted they make a 'quick' stop before heading home.

"Will you stop glaring at me." Cana growled, "It feels like you're trying to bore a hole in the back of my head."

"We've been here for over an hour!" Gray complained as he tried to convey just how bored he was.

Cana let out an exasperated huff and stalked over to him, grabbing something off of one of the shelves as she went. She shoved the object into the ice mage's chest rather painfully.

"Here, entertain yourself with this." she said before turned back to examine the cards again.

Gray flipped the object around to look at the cover. It was the latest edition of Sorcerer Weekly. Well, that was sure going to entertain him. His first thought was to throw the magazine away in disgust, bu,t his need to quell his boredom outweighed his better taste.

He began mindlessly flipping through the pages until something popped out at him. It was an article on the various independent mages in Fiore. It looked interesting, at least more so than their usual gossip. He let out a sigh, leaned up against the wall, and began to read.

The article was short, giving only a brief discretion of about twenty different mages, none of which Gray recognized until he was near the end of the article. It was then that his gaze fell upon a name that stood out to him like it was written in red: ' _Lyon Vastia_ '

He blinked at the page several times. His rate increased ever so slightly as he slowly read what was written under that name.

' _This cool, collected ice mage came here just recently form the North. When we met up with him in Clover he said that he was here on a certain project but refused to disclose any details. What is such a skilled and secretive mage doing here? Is he here to stay and will he join a guild? Only time will tell._ '

There was a brief discretion of Lyon which described him just the way Gray had remembered him. There was no doubting it now. His former fellow pupil was somewhere in Fiore.

"Gray, I'm done. Gray? Hey, Gray!"

Gray was jolted back to reality as Cana shook his shoulder violently.

"What?" he blinked, looking up at the girl.

"I'm done." she said, holding up a plastic sack full of freshly purchased cards. "We can go now."

"Um. You go on ahead." he said hesitantly.

"Huh?" Cana raised an eyebrow at him, "Weren't you just harping on me about hurrying up so you can go home."

"I know it's just." Gray racked his brain for a believable excuse, "I read in Sorcerer that there's a conference going on in Clover and I though it would be interesting."

"What kind of conference?" she asked, leaning in closer and squinting her eyes at him.

"It's on the advancement of magic mobile technology." he said, forcing a smile.

"Oi," she sighed, throwing her hands up. "That sounds about as interesting as watching Natsu give a lecture on fire. But if that's what your into then go ahead. I'll just suffer threw the train ride alone."

"Thanks, Cana." he said then hurried out of the shop before the girl could question him on anything else.

"Boys." she muttered before trying to leave only to be stopped by the store clerks hand on her shoulder.

"You are going to pay for that magazine your friend ran off with aren't you?" he growled.

She had to blink a couple times before the comment fully registered.

"Gray!" she yelled, but he was already gone.

* * *

A sinking feeling of regret began to grow in the pit of his stomach as the train drew closer to Clover Town. He didn't want to see Lyon again, not really. Just the idea of it made him sick to his stomach. But in that moment, when he saw his name in Sorcerer Weekly he knew that this was what Ur would have wanted him to do.

He pulled the magazine out again and double checked to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He wondered what this project was that Lyon was working on. A thought flashed through his mind that perhaps his senior was in Fiore looking for him, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Lyon was too stubborn for that; he held onto even the most minor things and never let them go. If he hated him and blamed him for Ur's death seven years ago, then Gray was certain that he still did.

He turned to look out the window at the passing scenery. Still, he had to at least try and find him and see if he would accept him. He let his breath fall on the glass, then used his magic to freeze it, causing frost to appear. He smiled at the beautiful patters it made. It reminded him of the way things use to be, when Ur was still alive and Lyon didn't hate him. As much as he loved Fairy Tail he still wished he could go back to those days.

The train lurched to a halt and it was announced that they had arrived in clover. Gray stood up and hesitantly stepped off. He glanced every which way at the people standing around the station as if expecting to find Lyon there.

But of course he wasn't, there was only a crowd of people, eager to get to their destinations. He started asking the station staff if they had seen a spiky haired albino recently, but no one calmed to have spotted Lyon. Maybe he should have gone to sorcerer weekly's head quarts and asked them for more information instead.

He was about to give up on this frequently search when he was suddenly approached by an old man. He was a head shorter than him and had a beard that when all the way down to his waist.

"I heard you were looking for a friend of yours. Some fellow by the name Lyon?" the old man asked in a raspy voice that Gray could barely make out.

"Yes, have you seen him?"

The old man chuckled. "I remember that young rascal. I thought he was going to kill me when I told him the last train had already left."

"Eh?" Gray was a bit taken aback by this. The old man seemed way to calm about having his life threatened.

"I work the last shift you see." the man continued. "That fellow came over just as we were closing up, wanting to get a ride over to Hargeon. When I said he had just missed the last train he got so mad you could see smoke pouring out of his ears."

"That was probably mist." Gray muttered under his breath, but the old man didn't hear him.

"If you do find your friend tell him he needs to learn a lesson in patience."

Gray nodded, "I'll do that. Thanks for your help. Did he say why he wanted to go to there?"

The old man shrugged "Not that I recall. He did have a few odd looking friends with him thought."

"That's all right." Gray smiled at the old man, "Thanks again. Can you tell me when the next train to Hargeon is?"

* * *

Once again, he found himself playing investigator as he proceeded to ask every person he pumped into if they had seen Lyon. Hargeon, being a port city, was rather large, and thus there were a lot of places Lyon could have ended up.

"Maybe he was planning on taking a boat out of Fiore." he speculated.

If that was the case he wondered if he would be willing to track Lyon all the way to another country. Would it be worth it? He knew that if he was able to reconcile things with him the it would be. But would it be worth the risk? He decided not to think about that yet and proceeded with interrogating the locals.

Finally, after several hours he found a lead; A young woman said that she saw a man that resembled Lyon going into one of the more upscale hotels. He followed her directions and found himself at an establishment calling itself the 'Sun-shower Inn.' it looked sickeningly high class and snooty. Just the kind of place he'd imagined Lyon would crash for the night. Although, he must have been doing pretty well for himself if he could afford the rooms there.

He went inside and went right up to the desk clerk, a gangly, middle-aged man with a thin mustache.

"I'm looking for someone named Lyon Vastia." he said, getting directly to the point.

"I'm not permitted to disclose information about our patrons." the man huffed, giving him a bored look, "Now if you're not planning on renting a room, I suggest you leave."

"What?" Gray growled, "But he's a friend of mine that I haven't seen in years. You're not going to deny a guy the pleasure of being reunited with a long lost buddy are you?"

"I'm not denying you anything. If you want to search for your friend then be my guest, but you cannot do it here."

Gray had to restrain himself. No, as much as he wanted to throttle this guy, he wasn't going to fly off the handle like Natsu. That was a good way to get himself arrested. Instead, he quietly stepped outside to think about what he should do next. He could scale the building and peep through the windows, but that was also a good way to get arrested.

He growled in frustration and sat down on a bench opposite the hotel. Nothing else came to mind so he divided to just wait here and see if Lyon showed up, while asking people coming out if they had seen him. One person said he had so he guessed he was in the right place. Now all he had to do was wait until he showed up.

It had been several hours since he had last eaten and he should have been feeling hungry by then, but he wasn't. Instead a sickness settled inside of him. The reality of him actually meeting Lyon again was growing more and more likely. It was easy to say that he was going to try and reconcile with the older boy when it seemed like an unlikely occurrence, but now...

The memory of the way Lyon had looked at him the day they parted ways assaulted his mind. There was so much hatred in his eyes. He didn't want to have those old wounds torn open again. He was sure Lyon didn't want that either. There was a high unlikelihood that this would make either of their lives better. His resolve falter and he stood to his feet and began walking away.

If fate decreed that their paths should cross again at some point, then so be it. He, however wasn't going to seek it out; it was too soon.

He glanced at the sky. It was already getting dark; too late to try and catch a train back to Magnolia. He looked inside his pockets; Just enough money for a train ticket and a night at a cheap hotel. He'd have to walk quite a ways in order get to the less classy side of town to find a place he could afford. He breathed a sigh, shoving the money back into his pockets and picking up his pace a bit.

"Ur would understand, wouldn't she?" he wondered quietly to himself.

Maybe he was just trying to reason his way out of something he really didn't want to do. He shook the thought away. If he was going to feel guilty about it afterward, then fine; it would only be a miniscule amount compared to the mountain he was already carrying on his shoulders.

He was mostly staring at the ground as he walked, but something flashed in the corner of his eye that stuck out to him and made his stand dead still in his tracks.

His heartbeat quickened as a rush of thoughts came to his mind. Part of him said he should just ignore it and keep going, and not even glance up, but curiosity, or maybe just the longing in his heart made him turn his head and looked to the opposite side of the street.

There was a boy there, walking in the same direction he was going. He looked to be about a year older than him and had snow-white hair that stood straight up in defiance of gravity.

"Lyon?"

* * *

A/N: Did anyone else notice this: In the Galuna Island arc, when Gray first sees Lyon again his face is covered, but Gray recognizes his voice. Now how could this be if they were both still kids when he saw him last? Lyon's voice would have changed since then so Gray would not have been able to recognize him by this. Unless, of course Gray and him met at some other point in that ten year time span. And that, dear reader, is how this fanfiction was born!


	2. The Encounter

Capture Two: The Encounter

* * *

As if in a trance, he turned and walked towards. He had taken, maybe four steps before he heard the blare of a horn blow straight into is ears. He whipped his head around to see a magic vehicle coming straight towards him. He leaped forward as the vehicle swerved to miss him, then continued down the road. The near accident had caused everyone in the near vicinity who was still out and about at this hour to turn their full attention towards him. Including Lyon.

Their gazes locked for a few seconds before Gray jerked his head away and sprinted out of the street. Now back on the opposite sidewalk from Lyon he began walking away, stepping as quickly as he could without actually running.

Did he recognize him? He did give him an odd look, but then again, he was almost body checked by a magic vehicle. He looked up at the stares that were just starting to come out and wished that Lyon would just walk away and forget about it; go home and think that he had just seen his look-alike.

"Wait a minute!"

He gasped as he felt an icy cold hand grab his shoulder, forcing him to stop. He stood as riged as a board, not even daring to turn his head.

"You look familiar." The person behind him said, suspicion leaking from his voice, "Like someone I knew a long time ago."

"I'm in a hurry." Gray mumbled as he reached up to try and pry the hand from his shoulder. He dug into the skin with his nails and the grip finally loosened. Then he was walking again, the sound of his footsteps banging inside hie head, almost as loud as his frantic pulse.

"Don't you walk away from me!"

Gray felt an unsettling coldness surround his feet before he was forced to stop as a thick layer of ice engulfed them. That clinched it; this person was definitely his senior pupil. He stood, frozen in place, and waited for Lyon to figure out who he was. It didn't take long.

Lyon stepped around him so he could get a good look at his face. His eyes narrowed as he looked into his eyes.

"It is you, isn't it, Gray?" he asked, practically spitting out his name like it was vinegar.

Not knowing what else to do, Gray forced himself to smile.

"H- hey, Lyon." he choked out, unable to keep the uneasiness out of his voice.

Lyon hissed through his teeth, before reaching out and grabbing Gray by his collar.

"You've got a lot of nerve, coming after me. The clerk at the hotel said some punk was looking for me. I never thought it'd be you."

Gray looked into the others eyes, they still held the exact same hatred as before. He lowered his head and stared down at his frozen feet.

"Lyon, I..." the words caught in his throat, but he forced them out. "I'm sorry. I didn't-"

A fist collided with his cheek, cutting him off. It was so forceful that it would have knocked him over if the ice, and the grip on his collar, wasn't still holding him in place. He straightened back up, hand on his cheek, and looked up at Lyon. The others face was turning red with anger and he could feel his cold breath on his skin as he seethed through clenched teeth.

"Sorry?" he spat, "You came back here just to tell me that again? Sorry doesn't fix anything, Gray!"

"I know, but-"

"Shut up!" Lyon roared, pulling him in so their faces were only an inch apart and he could see every detail on his anger playing out in his features. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lyon's other hand twist around as he formed a spell. He couldn't tell what it was but he felt it as something cold and hard slammed into the top of his head. The ice capturing his feet shattered. Lyon's grip loosened and he fell back, hitting the hard sidewalk.

"I should just kill you now. You're nothing but a waste of air anyway. No, you're even worse than that; you're a murderer."

Gray's eyes widened at the hate filled words. He stared up at Lyon and saw the determination in his eyes. In the state he was in now he might actually kill him. He didn't really want to die like this and yet a part of him reasoned that if that was what Lyon thought he deserved then he probably did. He shut his eyes and surrendered to whatever the older boy had in mind for him.

He heard the sound of ice being formed.

His word went completely still and for an instant all he could hear was a crack. Then he felt an explosion of pain stemming from his right wrist. He opened his mouth, but he wasn't sure if any sound came out, as all other sense except for the pain were stilled.

He forced on eye open threw the pain and looked over at his assaulted limb. It was bent where there was no joint, the skin turning dark. He tried to reach out to it with his other hand, but something stopped it. Thew the searing flood of pain he felt another lesser pain digging into his hand. He opened his other eye and saw that Lyon was grinding into it with his heel.

"Tell me, what did you think you would accomplish?" Lyon's bitter voice was the only thing he could hear, "Did you really think that maybe I would forgive you? You? Some third-rate mage who doesn't even know how to fight back? You don't even deserve to still use Ur's magic."

He lifted something in his hands. Gray's vision was blurring over as his eyes grew moist, but he could tell it was some kind of weapon made of ice. He brought it down, mercilessly upon his other wrist.

His teeth clamped down on his tongue and he arched his back, writhing in the pain. He could hear Lyon snickering. Then he suddenly stopped and he could see his expression change. He heard people yelling and running in their direction. Lyon gave him one final glare before turning and running out of sight.

Two men knelt beside him as he tried to bite back the pain. He could vaguely tell they wore uniforms. Someone must have seen Lyon attacking him and called for help. One man grabbed his shoulders and shoved him against the concrete, forcing him to be still while the other examined his broken wrists.

He blinked a few times, seeing black spots dance before his eyes.

"It's okay, you're going to be all right." he heard someone say before blacking out from the pain.


	3. The Stuff that Happened Afterward

Chapter Three: The... Stuff that Happened Afterward

* * *

"Gray!" Natsu's voice range through out the guild as he yelled his rival's name, "Where are ya? Don't think I'm going to let you get away with this."

"Gray's not here you idiot!" Laxus growled from across the room, "Take a look around before you blow out our eardrums."

Natsu glanced around the guild. He saw Erza, Cana, the master and a few others but no Gray.

"Where did he go?" he asked, looking in Erza and Cana's direction.

"Some convention in Clover." Cana muttered.

"No, he's not." Natsu stated flatly.

"Sure he is, he went right after we finished clearing out the pocket badgers form that rick guy's basement."

"But if he was in Clover then how was he able to fill my bed with thumb tacks?"

"He did what?" Erza growled, "I thought you two were friends. Friends don't pull pranks on each other."

"Well, he did and I owe him a swift kick to the teeth for it"

"I'm back!"

Their conversation ceased when they heard Gray's familiar voice and turned to see the ice mage walk threw the doors.

"There you are!" Natsu roared as he leaped forward until he was only a breath away from the other and jabbed a finger into his chest, "You got a lot of nerve! You're lucky if I don't break your arms for sticking those things in my bed."

Gray sighed and shook his head. "You blind, Natsu?"

"Whatcha mean?"

The ice mage held his arms up. Two black, leather braces where wrapped firmly around each wrist and hand, only his fingers and thumb stuck out.

"Someone already beat you to it." he said dryly before stepping to the side and walking past him.

Natsu just stood there in stunned silence as Gray walked over to where Makarov was sitting on the counter top.

"Hey, Gramps. I thought you might like to know that I won't be able to preform any missions for a while. Not until my wrists heal." he informed the old man. His gaze impassive.

Makarov stared at the boy with concern. "Who did this to you, Gray?"

The ice mage shrugged. "Some punk I ran into on my way back. He turned out to be a lot tougher than he looked."

"Who?"

Gray was suddenly spun around before being slammed against the counter. He stared up into Erza's fiery eyes.

"Who was it?" she demanded, "Anyone who hurts a member of Fairy Tail has to pay!"

"You don't need to go on a revenge quest, Erza." Gray assured her. "It was my fault; I provoked him."

"But still, breaking your arms." The red head growled.

"That's enough." the master's firm voice cut through the air.

Erza's grip slackened and Gray shook himself free. They both looked up at Makarov to see what he had to stay.

He looked at Gray. "Take as much time as you need to recover, boy. Don't worry about money. You can borrow as much as you need from the guild and we won't charge you any interest."

Gray nodded. "Thanks. I think I'll go home now. I'm pretty tired from the trip."

"Good, you should get some rest."

He gave the old man a smile before turning and heading out the doors.

The master then turned to Erza.

"I don't need to tell you to keep an eye on him do I?"

Erza shook her head. "No, it's obvious something is troubling him. That wasn't just a random fight he was in."

The old man nodded. "Just don't try and force anything out of him. He'll open up to us in his own time."

"Understood."

* * *

An hour and seventeen minutes later...

"No."

Clang.

"Hmm. No."

Thud.

"No.

A third item fell to the floor of the small cabin as Natsu threw it over his shoulder. The pink haired lad was busy rummaging through a cardboard box that had been labeled once, but the words looked more like chicken scratch than actual lettering. It consisted mostly of items Natsu thought might me used for an awesome prank, but at the time couldn't figure out how he might use them for such.

"You're not planning on pulling a prank on Gray when his wrists are broken are you?" Happy asked wearily as he floated down to sit next to his friend.

Natsu looked over at him a friend.

"Of course! Remember what Gildarts told us, when your enemy is weakened, that is the time to strike. Or something like that." he then laughed, "Besides, this is too perfect, I can't pass this up. Now what shall I do to him?"

He looked back down at the box in contemplation. A rubber duck, scotch tape, a sorcerer weekly magazine. Nothing was popping out at him.

"I don't know about this, Natsu," Happy said, looking up at him with concern, "Remember what Makarov said to Erza?"

"Gramps said something to Erza? What does that have to do with my awesome prank?" he asked, without looking up from the assorted items.

"You mean you weren't listening?"

"He was talking to her, not me, why would I—oh this is perfect."

He pulled out a plastic bottle that was labeled, 'Pink hair dye'. He turned it over and read the instructions on the back.

"'Boil in water then wait for it to cool before soaking hair in mixture'. Perfect! I can just dump this on his head when he's not looking; sweet revenge for all those lame comments he's made about my hair."

Happy sighed as Natsu went to prepare his prank.

It took only a minute for the fire mage to boil the water. Unfortunately, he was too impatient to wait for it to cool.

So he ran outside carrying a giant soup pot, leaving behind a rather miffed Happy. He dragged the heavy mixture all the way to the guild only to find that Gray wasn't there. He dragged it all the way to Gray's house, but he wasn't there either.

Roaring out his frustration to the world he set out again, this time to the river bank where they usually fought. Finally, he found him, sitting on the grass, staring out blankly at the water.

With a devilish grin he crept closer. Before he could take another step however, he was grabbed by the collar and a threatening voice whispered into his ear.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Erza." he yelped.

"What's in there?" the redhead asked, pointing at the pot.

"I was just going to play an innocent prank on Gray. Good friends are always playing pranks on each other." he quickly blabbered out his defense.

Erza's featured softened slightly, "Gray doesn't need his good friend to prank him right now, he need him to comfort him."

"Eh?" Natsu raised both eyebrows at her.

The girl growled in exasperation, then grabbed the others face and turned it so he was looking straight at Gray.

"Can't you see?" she asked, "Doesn't he look different to you."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and studied the ice mage's features closely.

"I guess he looks a little different." he said.

"How does he look different? Try and figure out how he's feeling."

"He's... sad?" he guessed. Either that or tired, by the way his eyes drooped more than usual.

"Good." Erza said, giving him the minimal amount of praise. "So when a friend is sad what do you do?"

Natsu pulled her hands off his face and tried to guess the answer, "You... don't try to die their hair hot pink?"

"Yes..." Erza said slowly, "And what else?"  
"I don't know!" Natsu growled in exasperation, "I'd just leave him alone and let him sort this out on his own."

Erza narrowed her eyes at him, "Is that something a best friend woulds say."

"No." he said with a gulp, "I'm just not very good at this stuff, Erza, can you give me a hint?"

"I already told you. He need comforting. Tell him some words of encouragement."

"Comfort? Encouragement?" He furrowed his brow together  
Natsu hatted being caught inside this girl's attention. Especially when she wanted something from him and wouldn't say what outright.

"Try going over there, giving him a hug and telling him that everything is going to be all right?"

"What?" Natsu growled, "You want me to do what?"

A vain budged on Erza's forehead as her glare intensified, causing him to quickly shut his mouth.

"You'll. do. as. I. say." she replied, drawing out each syllable, "I'm going to go back, and don't you dare start a fight with him."

She then snatched his pot away and poured the contents out on the ground before walking off. Natsu sighed, wondering if there was any way he could disregard Erza's orders and not have her find out. He decided the risk was too high to take.

Walking as quickly as he could in order to get this over with as soon as possible he strode over to where the other boy was sitting. Gray only glanced at him before turning back to stare at the small river. Natsu let out a huff before kneeling down right next to him and wrapping his arms around him in a loose hug.

"It's going to be all right." he said, keeping his voice a normal as possible.

He felt Gray flinch at the contact, then he twisted around, shoving a foot against his chest and violently pushed him away.

"What is wrong with you?" Gray growled as he stood to his feet to his feet, "You're really sick, is this your way of mocking me?"  
"Don't get mad at me." Natsu shot back, "It was Erza's idea, she made me do it."

Gray's anger lessened some at this, but continued to glare down at the fire mage.

Natsu stood to his own feet as well and tried to match the others glare.

"Just leave me alone." Gray said, turning away.

"Man, are you pathetic." Natsu huffed.

"What did you say?" Gray growled, whipping his head around.

"I said you're pathetic, getting all beat up and then just moping about, feeling sorry for yourself."

"Shut up!" Gray yelled, "You weren't there so stop talking about things you don't know."

"I don't have to be there to know that you acted like a complete pansy and just rolled over and let the other guy win."

With a cry of rage, Gray leap forward and sent a kick to the dragon slayer's arm. It hit dead on, bruising the flesh. Natsu grimaced and took a step back to steady himself.

"Oh, so you're going to take your frustrations out on me now? Fine, come at me then. And just to make things fair, I won't use my fists. But don't think that means I'm going to go easy on you." Natsu taunted, grinning devilishly at his opponent.

With that declaration Natsu counter attacked with a swinging kick. Gray took a quick step back and dodged his sandaled foot, before sending a kick to the shin of his opponent's leg, knocking him off balance and sending him to the ground.

Natsu was up in a minute, but not before another kick hit his side.

"You stupid," Gray yelled, "Squinty eyed," his rammed his bare foot into the dragon slayer's stomach, sending him to his knees. "Moronic," the kicks were coming so fast how he couldn't even stand up, "Ash brained," a hard blow was struck to his head a for a moment he couldn't even hear the others insults as he hurled them out.

Natsu was not expect such a ferocious attack and was caught off guard. He was barely given the chance to try and fend Gray off as the kicks continued to fly into him. Finally he fell to the ground and held his hands up in surrender, eyes wide in a daze. His eyes widened further as Gray's face came back into focus. The boy was panting heavily, tears were shimmering in his eyes and his face was red exertion and raw emotion.

Gray gave him one last kick to the side before turning around and walking away. Natsu stared at his retreating back for a long while. Finally, he understood what Erza was talking about.

He stood up, rubbing the bruised spots on his skin, then ran to catch up with Gray. He ran up beside him, matching his steps.

"There's something wrong with you." he stated bluntly.

Okay, so he understood that the other was feeling down. That didn't mean he knew how to console him.

Gray quickened his steps, without so much as giving him a glance.

"Hey, I'm trying to help." Natsu growled, struggling to keep up with his bruised body.

"If you want to help then, leave me alone." Gray muttered, "Just take your loss and go home."

Natsu gave up then and let the other go. He was clearly not going to get anywhere with him when he was like that. He shook his head at the ice mage's retreating figure before turning and walking away.

* * *

Gray didn't come to the guild the next day, or the next. On the third day Erza grabbed Natsu and dragged him along until they were at the front steps of Gray's home.

"What are we doing here?" Natsu grumbled.

"We're here to check on Gray." Erza stated like it was the most natural thing.

"Okay, but why do I need to be here. You can check on him yourself can't you?"

"Because you're his friend and that's what friends do." she stated flatly before shoving him towards the door.

Natsu huffed, then reached a hand up to knock. Before he did it however he glanced to the side and noticed that Erza was walking away.

"Where are you going?" He yelled.

"Back to the guild." she replied.

"You're not going to come with me?"

"I already tried checking on him and he turned me away, saying he didn't want to be babied by a girl. I figured he'd be more open to talking with his best guy friend than with me." she said simply without so much as turning her head.

"But, what if I don't want to talk with him?" Natsu shot back.

All it took was Erza turning her head and senting him one bone chilling glare, for the fire mage to turn back to the door and knock on it like he was trying to pound the paint off.

Erza hummed happily to herself as she walked out of sight.

Natsu waited for about thirty seconds for a response. When there was none, he proceeded to kick at the door, then yell, then try and sneak in through the window. To his luck, Gray had left his bedroom window open. Natsu grinned as he peeked inside.

Gray was lying in bed with the sheets pulled over his head. He could hear him muttering insults at him under his breath.

"Stupid flame head, can't he just leave me alone." Gray hissed as he shifted around.

"Who's stupid?" Natsu growled as he swung his legs over and jumped onto the floor.

Gray immediately trough the sheets off and sat up. He whipped his head around to glare at the intrude.

"Go. Away." he growled, emphasizing each word.

Natsu snorted, then walked over to sit on the bed next to him. Gray gave him a kick to try and force him off, but there was no strength behind the action. He chuckled at the others annoyance as he shifted around to make himself more comfortable on the mattress.

"What are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"What are you doing still in be in the middle of the afternoon?" Natsu shot back.

"Trying to get some rest."

"I see."

They both ran out of things to say and stayed in silence like that for a bit, each waiting for the other to say something. Gray continued glaring at him like he was a cockroach that had crawled over his favorite dessert. Natsu grew bored and so started whistling. This caused Gray to glare at him even harder. The fire mage grinned at the others annoyance and continued to whistle even louder.

"Seriously? What are you doing here?" he finally growled out, sending another kick Natsu's way.

"Erza sent me,to check on you." he said casually.

"Well, as you can see I'm fine, now leave."

"Are you really?" Natsu asked as he leaned forward to look straight into the others eyes.

"Look, I'll tell Erza you checked on me and you won't get in trouble. There, will that make you leave?"

Natsu sighed and turned away to stare down at his feet. "Actually," he said quietly, almost so Gray couldn't even hear him, "I kind of wanted to see if you were all right too."

"What was that?" Gray asked, leaning in closer so he could hear him better.

"I said I was worried about you too." Natsu growled in his normal angry voice.

Gray sat back with a slight smirk on his face, "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Natsu shot him a glare, then gave him one of his own kicks.

They both stared at each other for a long moment before turning away.

"So, you going to be all right or what?" Natsu muttered.

Gray took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out slowly.

"I guess."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Natsu cringed as he asked. He knew Gray didn't want to tell him anything. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. He guessed he just didn't want to think that anyone else besides him had problems. Maybe that's why he found it so hard to read people.

"Some jerk broke my arms. What's there to tell." Gray said with a huff.

"Did you know the guy?"

Gray fell silent, staring down at his fingers that poked out through the braces. Natsu took this as a yes.

"Don't try and protect him just 'cuz you were friends once or whatever." Natsu growled, grabbing Gray's shoulder and shaking him.

"I told you it was my fault!" Gray cried out in a shaky voice

Natsu flinched away at the sudden outburst. He stared at Gray as the other hung his head, bangs shielding his face. His broken arms were trembling.

"It was my own bloody fault." Gray whispered choking on the last few words. A few tears glistened on his cheeks before falling onto his broken wrists.

If Natsu wasn't sure what to do before he was completely at a loss now. He had never seen Gray break down like this before. The closest he had come to seeing Gray cry was three days again and it sent his mind into a complete blank. He blinked a few times before doing the only thing his head could conjure up for him to do. He scooted closer to Gray and wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug.

"It's going to be all right." he whispered.

This time Gray didn't pull away, but instead fell limp as the tears fell silently from his eyes.

It took a few seconds for the fire mage's brain to catch up with him. His eyes widened as the realization came to him that he was actually hugging Gray. He looked down at his friends, wondering if he should let go; wishing the other would pull away so he could be free of this awkward position.

"Hey?" he muttered.

No response.

He looked more closely. Gray's breathing was coming in, quite and even. His eyes were closed, a few tears still escaping from the edges. He had gone away into the peacefulness of sleep. Natsu breathed a sigh of relief and set him back down on the bed. He placed a pillow under his head and pulling the sheet over him, then stood up to leave.

"It's going to be all right." he whispered again before leaving through the window.

* * *

The End


End file.
